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Researchers have found in a new study that individuals who live alone and experience depression or anxiety have a higher risk of suicide. The findings emphasize the need for targeted mental health interventions and suicide-prevention strategies to support vulnerable individuals. Living alone and mental health disorders, including depression and anxiety, are associated with high suicide risk, but their combined impact remains underexplored. A study was done to examine the association of living arrangements and depression or anxiety with suicide risk. This population-based cohort study used data from the Korean National Health Insurance Service database from January 1, 2009, to December 31, 2021, that included adults aged 20 years or older who participated in the General Health Screening Program in Korea in 2009. Individuals with incomplete data and those who died by suicide within the first year were excluded to minimize the possibility of reverse causation. Data were analyzed from December 28, 2023, to December 27, 2024. Living arrangements, categorized as living alone (≥5 years) or living with others, and depression and anxiety, determined using International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tenth Revision codes. The primary outcome was death by suicide, identified through national death records. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards regression models were used to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (AHRs) and 95% CIs for suicide risk. Results The study included 3 764 279 adults (mean [SD] age, 47.2 [14.0] years; 55.8% male). Of these individuals, 112 460 (3.0%) had depression, 232 305 (6.2%) had anxiety, and 319 993 (8.5%) lived alone. Compared with individuals who had neither depression nor anxiety nor lived alone, individuals living alone with both depression and anxiety exhibited a 558% increased risk of suicide (AHR, 6.58 [95% CI, 4.86-8.92]). Living alone with depression was associated with a 290% increased risk (AHR, 3.91 [95% CI, 2.96-5.16]), and living alone with anxiety was associated with a 90% increased risk (AHR, 1.90 [95% CI, 1.48-2.43]). The AHRs were higher for the association between living alone and suicide among middle-aged individuals (aged 40 to 64 years) and men compared with other demographic groups. In this cohort study of 3 764 279 individuals, living alone with depression or anxiety was associated with an increased risk of suicide, particularly among middle-aged individuals and men. These findings underscore the importance of preventing mental illness, such as depression and anxiety, while addressing living arrangements as a critical factor in suicide risk assessments for individuals with these conditions.

Research suggests that menthol, a common flavor chemical in electronic cigarettes, could pose risks to fetal development. Exposure during pregnancy may impact a baby’s growth and health, raising concerns about vaping while expecting.

Vaping during pregnancy is becoming more common, but its impact on early human development is not well understood. A new study by scientists at the University of California, Riverside, now reports that the flavor chemical menthol used in electronic cigarettes could pose risks to a developing baby.

The study, published in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine, used human embryonic stem cells, or hESCs, to characterize early stages of embryonic development and examined how low concentrations of menthol affect important cellular processes.

The researchers found the concentration of menthol in the blood of pregnant women who vape is enough to activate stress-related channels called Transient Receptor Potential channels in the hESCs.

“This activation led to inhibition of cell growth, increased cell death, and abnormal cell movement in the hESCs,” said Shabnam Etemadi, first author of the research paper and a bioengineering graduate student who works with Prue Talbot, a professor of the graduate division. “These changes could interfere with a critical stage of development called gastrulation, potentially increasing the risk of birth defects.”

Transient Receptor Potential channels are a large family of ion channels located in the membranes of many different cell types, including in reproductive tissues and embryos. They are involved in a wide range of sensory and physiological processes, including detecting heat, cold, pain, pressure, taste, and smell.

The researchers found that one of the channels, the TRPA1 channel, was activated by nanomolar concentrations of menthol, which their exposure model predicts would be in the blood of pregnant women who vape and would reach the embryo.

Etemadi explained that gastrulation involves movement of epiblast cells-cells that can differentiate into any cell type in the body-to form the definitive endoderm and the mesoderm. Gastrulation is considered a critical stage of development because it is the process where the three primary germ layers-the ectoderm, mesoderm, and endoderm-are formed during the third or fourth week of development, she said.

“These germ layers serve as the building blocks for all future organs and tissues in the embryo; any disruption during this stage can lead to significant structural birth defects due to the misallocation of cells destined for specific tissues and organs,” she added.

Talbot, the senior author of the research paper, said the findings highlight the need for more research on how vaping during pregnancy may harm embryonic and fetal development and point to possible dangers of using mentholated electronic cigarettes.

“The use of e-cigarettes by pregnant women should be discourag.ed until the effects on their embryos of flavor chemicals, such as menthol, are fully understood,” she said.

Reference:

Shabnam Etemadi, Menthol, a Consumer Product Additive, Adversely Effects Human Embryonic Cells via Activation of TRPM8 and TRPA1 Channels, Stem Cells Translational Medicine, https://doi.org/10.1093/stcltm/szae099 

Researchers have found in a new research that Laparoscopic supracervical hysterectomy (LSH) has a lower risk of short-term postoperative complications compared to total laparoscopic hysterectomy (TLH) in patients with uterine fibroids. Therefore these findings support informed, shared decision-making when considering minimally invasive hysterectomy for uterine fibroids. Hysterectomy is the standard surgical treatment for uterine fibroids in the United States, but there has been limited information on how the two most common minimally invasive surgical methods impact patient outcomes. The study was conducted by Raanan M. and published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

A new study published in The New England Journal of Medicine Evidence showed that surgery significantly improved the Neck Disability Index (NDI) after 12 months in individuals with cervical radiculopathy when compared to nonsurgical therapy for disc herniation.

Cervical radicular syndrome (CRS) may result in sensory and motor impairments as well as invalidating radicular discomfort. Most patients have a gradual reduction in symptoms over the course of a few weeks, allowing them to resume their regular daily activities. There are several disagreements on whether to do diagnostic tests, when to refer specialists, and when to perform surgery for a cervical cervical hernia nuclei pulposus (HNP).

The majority of cervical disc protrusions resolve on their own without surgery, according to indirect data. Surgery may be considered if the problems do not go away on their own in a fair amount of time. An anterior discectomy followed by anterior spinal nerve decompression is the standard surgical procedure.

A total of 180 patients with incapacitating radicular arm pain and cervical disc herniation (trial 1; n = 89) or spondylosis (trial 2; n = 91) confirmed by magnetic resonance imaging or computed tomography participated in 2 randomized clinical trials at Oslo University Hospital in Norway. A 1:1 random assignment system was used to allocate patients to either surgery or nonsurgical therapy.

Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion were the surgical procedures. 3 appointments with physical medicine/rehabilitation doctors and three sessions with physiotherapists for cognitive behavioral and functional assistance comprised the nonsurgical therapy. The NDI score, which patients self-reported at 12 months and ranged from 0 to 100 (higher scores indicate greater impairment; the smallest meaningful difference is 15), was the main endpoint in both studies.

The average difference in NDI adjusted for baseline was 7.4 in favor of surgical therapy among the 87 participants in the 12-month data disc herniation study. The mean difference in NDI corrected for baseline was 2.3 among the 88 participants in the 12-month data set of the spondylosis experiment.

2 patients from the nonsurgical group switched to surgery in the disc herniation experiment. 11 individuals in the nonsurgical group switched to surgery in the spondylosis study. No significant adverse effects occurred. Overall, this study observed a statistically significant difference in NDI at 12 months between surgical and nonsurgical therapy for patients with cervical radiculopathy.

Reference: 

Taso, M., Sommernes, J. H., Sundseth, J., Pripp, A. H., Bjorland, S., Engebretsen, K. B., Kolstad, F., Zwart, J. A., & Brox, J. I. (2025). Surgical versus nonsurgical treatment for cervical radiculopathy. NEJM Evidence, 4(4), EVIDoa2400404. https://doi.org/10.1056/EVIDoa2400404

A new study published in the Canadian Urological Association Journal found serum vitamin D levels to play a crucial role in regaining continence in the early period after radical prostatectomy.

One of the main surgical side effects that significantly lowers a patient’s quality of life is post-prostatectomy incontinence (PPI). Vitamin D receptors in the pelvic floor’s striated muscles were discovered to diminish with age. Vitamin D receptors in the pelvic floor’s striated muscles were discovered to diminish with age.

According to studies, vitamin D supplements also have a favorable impact on male lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) and female urine incontinence. The purpose of this study was to determine if vitamin D levels and post-prostatectomy incontinence are related. The study’s population consisted of patients who had robotic radical prostatectomy performed in a tertiary facility and comprised patients whose blood vitamin D levels were assessed three months prior to robotic radical prostatectomy.

At 1, 3, 6, and 12 months after surgery, the continuity status was noted. Either no pee leak or utilizing a pad to feel safe against possible slight leakage was considered urinary continence. Based on their continence state at the 12th postoperative month, the patients were split into two groups: PPI patients and continent patients. Serum vitamin D levels, previously identified PPI risk variables, and patient characteristics were compared between the groups.

There were a total of 318 patients in the total research group with the PPI rate being 14.5%. Propensity score matching was used since group 2’s mean age, body mass index, and prostate volume were all considerably greater than group 1’s. Serum vitamin D levels were higher in group 1 than in group 2 at the 12th postoperative month before and after propensity score matching, but there was no statistically significant difference.

At 1, 3, and 6 months postoperatively, however, serum vitamin D levels were significantly higher in continent patients than incontinent patients following propensity score matching. Overall, serum vitamin D has been found to have no positive impact on long-term PPI. But in the early stages, it could be a crucial indicator for restoring continence. 

Source:

Şam, E., Söğütdelen, E., Akkaş, F., Şeker, K. G., Özlü, D. N., & Güner, E. (2025). Can preoperative vitamin D level be a predictive factor for continence after radical prostatectomy? Journal de l’Association Des Urologues Du Canada [Canadian Urological Association Journal]. https://doi.org/10.5489/cuaj.8999